PORTLAND, Maine — Two German shipping companies are facing federal charges of falsifying environmental records in an effort to cover up a ship’s crew dumping waste water and oil overboard. On Tuesday, a federal grand jury at the U.S. District Court in Portland indicted the owner and operator of cargo ship M/V Marguerita with failing to keep accurate pollution control records and falsifying records, according a statement from the Department of Justice. The grand jury brought nine charges against the two companies related to at least eight instances in 2016 and 2017 when ship entered U.S. waters with records that did not properly document bilge water having been dumped off Liberian-flagged vessel, according to the statement. It was unclear Wednesday whether the alleged discharges themselves were unlawful or where they took place. But court records indicate that the matter came to the attention of U.S. officials in June, soon before the Marguerita arrived in Portland. On June 19, a crewmember informed the German companies that the Marguerita’s chief engineer had discharged bilge water from the ship but not recorded it, according to a motion from the two German companies’ lawyers seeking to quash a grand jury subpoena for records and testimony related to the incident.
WORLD SHIPPING
24 August 2017 - 20:00
Update: 25 August 2017 - 21:31
German owners of paper industry ship indicted in Maine
German owners of paper industry ship indicted in Maine
WORLD SHIPPING
24 August 2017 - 20:00
Update: 25 August 2017 - 21:31
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